PEORIA, Ariz. — Craig Stammen threw off the mound in the Petco Park bullpen for the final time on an August day in 2023.

He had known almost beyond any doubt since spring training that his big-league career was finished. But he had not ruled out another attempt to continue doing the job he loved so much and had done for almost two decades.

Stammen had worked through multiple setbacks and was on that day throwing with Padres physical therapist Scott Hacker among those standing behind him.

Stammen threw a fastball and then another. He threw his fastest one.

The radar gun read 83.2 mph.

“Are you sure the gun is right?” he asked aloud.

He looked back at Hacker, who Stammen would recall looked back at him “sadly.”

The next day, Stammen could not lift his arm. That is when he called assistant general manager Josh Stein to tell him he was officially retiring.

That is also the day Stammen essentially accepted a job as a special assistant in baseball operations.

That job led to his new one.

On Tuesday morning, Stammen will stand on the patio between the lunch room and the batting cage at the Peoria Sports Complex and hold the first media briefing of his first spring training as Padres manager. Pitchers and catchers will hold their first official workout on Wednesday.

Stammen’s playing days are over. The man who spent 13 years pitching in the major leagues, the final six of them as a reliever for the Padres, does not plan to even throw batting practice in his new role. His velocity has returned to some extent, but he has what he calls a “short” in his throwing shoulder that occasionally causes his pitches to go nowhere near where he intended.

“Every once in a while, it short-circuits,” he said. “And I don’t feel comfortable about that.”

Plus, he’s a manager now.

“The manager doesn’t need to throw batting practice,” Stammen said.

While this week is another marker in the delineation between Stammen’s two careers, the intersection is ongoing and ever-present.

“A lot of things I experienced as a player have helped me understand what goes into everyday activities of everyday players or pitchers,” Stammen said recently. “Keeping a player’s perspective is very helpful.”

Six players in Padres camp played on the same team as Stammen. Virtually everyone on the roster has known him in some capacity.

Stammen was around the club the past three seasons, first rehabbing and then as a special assistant who would meet the team on the road or show up at Petco Park. A part of his job the past two years was to interact with players as a sounding board.

And the thing to know about Stammen is that to know him is to almost assuredly feel connected to him.

“What an amazing guy,” said second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who shared a clubhouse for three seasons with Stammen. “… A mentor and an incredible human to be around. I couldn’t be more excited.”

How Stammen, 41, turns out as a manager will have to play out over months and years. How he views life and treats the people he comes across has been established.

He is realistic yet exceedingly positive. He isn’t concerned so much about whether a glass is half-full or half-empty; he just wants to find more water and fill the cup to the brim.

He doesn’t deny drama exists; he simply doesn’t give it oxygen. He has little regard for nonsense or complaining. Instead, Stammen listens and turns toward solutions.

The majority of his thoughts on virtually any topic are punctuated by some sort of reference to getting better and/or enjoyment.

He is revered for his wisdom and authenticity. That goes the same for the Padres minor leaguer who he mentored and is now out of the game, and Manny Machado, who heeds the counsel of just a small group of people.

“You definitely get that relationship, that there’s trust going both ways,” said Padres pitcher Michael King.

“He’s been awesome to work with, awesome to communicate with,” first baseman Gavin Sheets said. “I mean, just the feeling of we’re all in this together.”

For Stammen, this is the crux of his new role. So much of what he has said publicly since taking the job in November has been about the differences and similarities between playing and managing. He has spent the past three months building a bridge between the two roles.

“It’s been great this offseason,” he said, “just, like, getting involved in these guys’ offseason plans and developing player plans for these guys and trying to show them that we’re in their corner and that we’re not trying to make them do things but that we want to see the best, get the best out of them, and then, in turn, get the best out the team. So just reiterating that message throughout the offseason and seeing these guys show up here this week in really good shape and ready to go for spring training, and saying, ‘I can’t wait to get started.’ That’s what it’s all about.”

Stammen’s golf game has suffered. He had a 0.4 index in November, which means he was routinely around par. He expects to skip the Arizona courses he loves this spring. That is part of the trade-off for taking a job he has already found to be exhilarating.

“My passion has grown,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a big deal, a life-changing decision. And it has been. My day-to-day life is completely different than it used to be. It feels like I’m on the phone 24 hours a day. I’m not. It’s just a rhythm of life with the family, with myself and the schedule that is different. But it’s one of the coolest challenges I’ve ever taken on. It’s the same challenge as being a player. It’s the same as trying to make it and be the best pitcher I could be.”

He repeatedly talks about how much he has to learn, how he will lean on his staff. But he knows the tone he will set this spring.

“We want to be about hard work,” he said. “We want to be about being together, testing each other as a team. We want to be about enjoying this opportunity to be in the major leagues. If we accomplish those three things, we’ll be in a good spot.

“A.J. (Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations) has done a great job constructing the roster. We have great players that have been here quite a long time, gone through some very good seasons and gone through tough times, lost in the playoffs. All those things add up to a belief and a want to achieve something greater.”

He spoke about the need to be “uncomfortable” and for individuals to assess what they are doing to be their best.

“Little things daily,” he said. “Are you skipping that last rep in the weight room? Are you getting in that extra lift during the week? Are you on time every day, focused, to do whatever you’re supposed to do? If you’re taking ground balls, throwing a bullpen, are you giving a championship effort every single time?”

Those might not be entirely unique goals for a manager. But when elucidated by someone who was so recently asking those same things of himself, they might land differently.

“The manager’s biggest goal is to have a happy clubhouse and a good relationship with the players,” pitcher Joe Musgrove said. “He’s coming in already ahead of the game in that aspect, having played with us. I think the communication is going to be a lot freer and a lot more open, a little bit of honesty. And I think Craig’s the kind of guy that’s not looking for praise, you know, he’s not looking to be the hero that comes in and always makes the right decision.”

At Padres FanFest last month, Stammen made one of those jokes that is funny because of the truth it contained.

“It’s not too difficult right now, because I haven’t had to make a decision to make them mad,” he said of his new dynamic with players.

“So right now, it’s kind of status quo, just building off those relationships (that) I had as a player. But being able to ask them, like, certain questions, like one-on-one that are team-related and chemistry-related and make some changes that maybe they were afraid to voice in years past that they feel comfortable letting me know and hoping I can make a difference in whatever they’re asking from us.”

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